This invention relates to a vehicle charge assembly and more particularly, to an assembly which selectively stores and provides electrical charge to a vehicle starter, effective to allow a vehicle engine to be started.
Electric vehicles currently use relatively large and heavy battery assemblies to store and selectively provide electrical charge in order to activate/operate the transmission assembly or power train and to operate the various devices and components contained within these vehicles. Hybrid type vehicles use these battery assemblies in combination with an internal combustion engine. Particularly, these battery assemblies provide electrical charge to the vehicle starter, effective to activate or start the engine and selectively provide electrical power to the transmission assembly, effective to allow the vehicle to be driven without the use of the engine.
While these battery assemblies do store and provide electrical charge, they suffer from some drawbacks. Particularly, these battery assemblies are relatively heavy, thereby reducing the vehicle""s fuel economy. These battery assemblies also utilize a chemical reaction which is relatively difficult to model or operationally predict, thereby preventing the creation of relatively accurate operating characteristics or operating models for these vehicles, such models being necessary to accurately predict overall vehicle operation.
Moreover, the electrical charge produced by these battery assemblies is highly susceptible to temperature variation and these batteries are relatively bulky, thereby requiring a relatively large amount of storage space. Due to the proliferation of many diverse types of vehicular components and assemblies and the relatively limited amount of vehicular storage space, it is highly desirable to reduce the size of the deployed components and assemblies and the concomitant need for such storage space. The use of these bulky batteries thereby undesirably reduces the amount of available storage space.
There is therefore a need for a new and improved vehicular charge assembly which overcomes at least some of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior vehicular charge assemblies.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a vehicle charge assembly which overcomes some or all of the drawbacks of prior vehicle charge assemblies.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a vehicle charge assembly which overcomes some or all of the drawbacks of prior vehicle charge assemblies and which selectively stores and provides electrical charge to a vehicle starter.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a vehicle charge assembly which overcomes some or all of the drawbacks of prior vehicle charge assemblies, which selectively stores and provides electrical charge to a vehicle starter in order to selectively start the vehicle engine, and which selectively increases the amount of torque provided by the vehicle""s transmission.
According to a first aspect of the present invention a vehicle charge assembly is provided. The vehicle charge assembly is adapted for use in combination with a vehicle of the type having an internal combustion engine and a starter. The vehicle charge assembly includes a capacitor assembly which is coupled to the starter; and a power inverter which is coupled to the capacitor assembly and to the starter.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method is provided to increase the torque produced by a power transmission assembly. The method includes the steps of providing a capacitor assembly; charging the capacitor assembly; providing a motor; coupling the motor to the power transmission assembly; and communicating the charge from the capacitor to the motor, effective to cause the motor to produce torque, thereby increasing the torque produced by the power transmission assembly.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention and by reference to the attached drawings.